Apple accelerates development of robotic tabletop home device
Apple is accelerating development of a tabletop home device that combines an iPad-like display tethered atop a HomePod via a robotic limb.
Mark Gurman for Bloomberg News:
The company now has a team of several hundred people working on the device, which uses a thin robotic arm to move around a large screen, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The product, which relies on actuators to tilt the display up and down and make it spin 360 degrees, would offer a twist on home products like Amazon.com Inc.’s Echo Show 10 and Meta Platforms Inc.’s discontinued Portal.
Users would primarily interact with this device using Siri and other Apple Intelligence features. It currently runs a modified version of iPadOS, and could, among other things, include a “look at me” command to “focus on the person saying the words.”
Apple is looking to launch the new device in “2026 or 2027” at a price of “around $1,000,” Gurman reports.
MacDailyNews Take: This thing had better do a lot more than is currently described to justify a $1,000 price tag.
Back in April 2021, Bloomberg News‘ Mark Gurman reported that Apple was exploring a high-end speaker with a touch screen. Such a device would combine an iPad with a HomePod speaker and also include a camera for video chat. In addition, Gurman reported that Apple was working on a new device that would meld an Apple TV set-top box with a HomePod speaker and include a camera for video conferencing through a connected TV alongside multiple other smart-home functions.
A combined Apple TV + HomePod would be very compelling. In nearly every place where we have an Apple TV, a HomePod is within a few feet or could be. We imagine an Apple TV + iPad combo device would be like an Echo Show on steroids. – MacDailyNews, April 12, 2021
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